This invention relates primarily to guns and the attachment thereto of a sling by which guns are often carried. Long guns such as rifles and shotguns are of particular concern, in which a strap is attached so as to extend loosely between the end portion of the gun stock, or between the butt of the stock and the barrel ahead of the stock. Accordingly, it has been common practice to install spaced fittings at these positions to receive a pair of spaced swivels and each with a loop to secure the opposite ends of the sling. The sling is most often a leather strap with a buckle or the like for adjustment. The purpose of the sling is for convenience in transporting the gun, and it is often desired that the sling be removed when the gun is in use. Therefore, releasable swivels have been used wherein a link part is shiftable as by manual depression, to open and close the link. However, prior art links have been subject to accidental release, as for example when a hunter is hiking over rough terrain and he accidentally bumps and releases the link of the swivel, or when the gun pulls laterally and releases the link, thereby dropping the gun from one or the other end of the sling. It is a general object of this invention to prevent such an accidental release of the sling, while providing a quick release function of a swivel that reliably secures the sling to the gun stock.
Swivels of the type under consideration are characterized by a link to which a loop is pivotally attached to receive an end of the sling, and it is usually preferred that the link be a rigid unitary part. That is, there are usually two parts involved, namely the link and the loop. However, to render such a swivel releasable, the link is made separable, and for example one leg thereof is made movable relative to the other leg thereof, in order to release the link from the base fitting that is permanently attached to the gun. In the past, this movement has been a lateral movement of one leg held closed to the other leg by spring pressure, and this manner of engagement has led to accidental release. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a locking condition controlled by articulation of the loop which prevents accidental release of the link. It is also an object of this invention to lock the loop to the link so that they operate as a rigid unit, and it is still another object of this invention to provide a secondary lock or safety that prevents a primary lock from releasing the link. As shown, the swivel of the present invention is characterized by a link body with a rigid leg, and a movable leg released by a lock pin, and a loop controlling the primary and secondary locking functions which preclude accidental release of the movable leg by the lock pin.
The quick detachable swivel is disclosed herein in two forms, one which is rigid and the other which is articulated, and both retaining the primary and secondary safety lock features as set forth above. In carrying out this invention there is a lock pin that carries the movable leg of the link and which has a spool portion having a closed operating link position, a first intermediate safety position, and an open releasing link position. In accordance with this invention, said first and second positions are controlled by the selective positioning of the loop member of the swivel. In a normal or substantially normal operating position the loop member limits positioning of the lock pin to the closed link and said first intermediate position where the movable leg remains inseparable from the link configuration. However, by selectively positioning the loop member, as is shown and hereinafter described, said second position is attainable so that the movable leg is separable from the closed link configuration to open the swivel for its release from the base fitting.